


A Newfound Faith

by AnHeiressofaSOLDIER



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 21:48:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3463223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnHeiressofaSOLDIER/pseuds/AnHeiressofaSOLDIER
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate ending to Rebellion, where Homura goes away with Madoka, and the two girls left behind-Mami Tomoe and Kyoko Sakura-reflect on things, and guess at what this will all mean for them. Mami and Kyoko friendship, with hints at MadoHomu, KyoSaya, and platonic Mami/Bebe. A story that tries to stay close to canon, but also still respect everything that Rebellion attempted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Newfound Faith

Mami looked onto the scene before her—where cotton candy seemed to now be making up the night sky and leading elsewhere; Homura laid on her former casket with her recently restored Soul Gem in hand, and the Law of Cycles—one Kaname Madoka—appeared to take Akemi-san with her: just like Mami knew the goddess would come to take her away someday.

And to the left of Mami, sat none other than Sakura Kyoko; the girl clad in red sat back against the green colors that adjoined with the area they were in, as if she were desperate to turn everything into Christmas colors.

As Mami looked at the scarlet Magi even further—from where she sat on some curved, painful looking thing that might have once been a seat, before the Wraiths had gotten to it—she couldn't help finding some humor in the Christmas idea that she'd had:

Sakura-san had once been rather religious, after all. And what was Kaname Madoka, other than the realization of many Christian dreams coming true, in a manner of speaking?

As the two girls continued to stare at the scene unfolding before them, Mami was only slightly aware of the words that she used to comfort her once estranged friend. That, no: Sayaka and Bebe weren't quite gone yet, and that rather they'd soon be taking Homura back with them, so that she could live in the peace of paradise she'd earned long ago.

And then it came: the moment where the beautiful—nay, glorious looking—Madokami reached to where a groggy Akemi Homura had only just woken up.

For some reason she couldn't ferret out even in her own head, Mami found herself watching the two with bated breath—Kyoko, she noted, out of the corner of her eye—was doing much the same. Perhaps her magic had picked up somethin-

Then and only then did the instant come that Mami had subconsciously known to fear begin presenting itself:

Using both of her hands, Homura clutched onto both of Madoka's own, therefore catching the descending goddess fast into her trap.

In protest to such a thing, Madoka's wings began flapping at a dizzying speed—no doubt trying to keep herself from falling face first onto the still-mostly-unconscious-girl, who had all ready suffered too much.

And then, barely louder than a whisper, Madoka's hesitant voice being carried over the wind, and effectively making her parents' and brother's ears twitch in the process: "Homura-chan, what is it?"

As she inched ever closer to the two other girls, in order to get a better view of just what was happening, Mami was shocked to find that Homura's face was stained with fresh tears, as she looked up at Madoka almost lost and childishly; the mask she usually so easily presented to the world left as only a memory.

Mami's heart beckoned for her to get closer to her former student, then, and her sympathy also went out to her. Who knew what sort of effects Kyubey's meddling had had on the young fourteen-year-old's mind, after all?

"I'm s-s-sorry, Madoka," Homura squeaked out, suddenly sounding quieter than a mouse.

And at this odd display—that seemed oddly right for Homura's character somehow—Mami chanced a glance towards Kyoko—to maybe see what her thoughts on all of this were.

But it seemed that her focus was still on where Sayaka rested, seemed shocked inside the chariot, whilst she and Bebe waited for Madoka. Mami sighed.

"I- I want to go with you, I do, but I—Kyubey's placed some fears in my mind about the heaven you've created now. And even worse than all that... my most selfish thought about all of this is… what if I don't like it there? Even in paradise, I don't know if I'll simply be able to go back to how I was, and get along with everyone agai-"

And though this, perhaps, would have baffled the Mami that had existed before having just unwittingly entered Homura's Labyrinth, it certainly didn't baffle her at all now—when Madoka simply giggled in response, and then smiled radiantly, before leaning her forehead against Homura's own.

Suddenly, Mami felt very awkward, and much like she was intruding on a very important and private moment.

"Homura-chan, I promise you that everything will be just fine! I have lots of magical potential, remember? I can do all kinds of things with my powers, and even better then that... Kyubey doesn't have control over my Soul Gem anymore, so I can do all of this without having to answer to him. So whatever you fear, if it ends up coming up, I'll be able to combat it easily.

"And I'm sure that you're going to love my place, Homura-chan! But if by some reason you don't, I'll just use my magic until it pleases you, okay? It's the least I can do for my very best friend, I mean. So come on now, Homura-chan. What do you say?"

And it was here that Madoka very delicately and gracefully pulled her hands from Homura's own, but only so that she could smooth down the other girl's hair with one of them, apparently, and grab onto one of Homura's wrists herself. "Are you ready to go do some ballet with me?"

"Ballet?" Akemi-san echoed, as more crystalline water droplets began dotting her eyes.

However... As strange as it was to see this kind of thing from Homura, Mami got the inane sense that these tears were of  _joy_ , and that the tone of voice she'd used in just saying that one word implied it so well.

And though Mami didn't know why speaking of that sort of dance seemed to do the trick—though she did recall how the violet Magi had used that method in order to transform, while they'd all been in the false Mitakihara—she knew for a fact that it had.

Homura began drying her cheeks with her free hand, smiled up at the still grinning Madoka, and began to ascend with the other girl, as she muttered, "Yes, you're right; you're always right. Let us go now and be together forever, my Madoka."

Well, there was certainly a cadence in Homura's tone there that Mami had never heard before.

She did get the sense, though, that it was also one that Madoka also had used with Homura in the past, and also that... Kyoko and Sayaka had probably used it when talking to each other before, too.

And there might have been a few words exchanged between Madoka and Homura after even that, but the bright, white light that had appeared then—and the chorus of angels, fellow saved Magical Girls—made it hard to be too sure of anything that happened in that one instance.

Mami did note for sure, however, that Homura had moved so that the back of her head was lined up against Madoka's chest, before she inched closer and closer to her still.

And then, when the previous song stopped—and the radiance all around them was just the normal splendor that Mami was used to—Bebe, Madoka, Homura, and Sayaka were all gone. And Mami distinctively realized then that she and Kyoko had just seen more of the Law of Cycles then anyone alive ever had.

And who knew? Maybe they'd even seen more than what some of the saved Magical Girls had. After all, Mami wouldn't have put it past Madoka to give Homura special treatment in the slightest.

And now the only hint that any of them were ever even there, was in the form of the still slumbering mortals, sitting fresh on the stolen furniture from Homura's Barrier.

...

Mami wasn't sure how long she and Kyoko stayed around, trying to take everything in, after both of their favorite people—Bebe and Sayaka, and Madoka and Homura, too, of course—were gone, but she knew it must have been more than a little while.

Fortunately for the both of them, the parents, child, couple, and Sensei were yet to awaken. But what was even more fortunate then even that was the fact that the Wraiths has yet to appear for the night.

Kyoko—when she wasn't busy kicking sticks and stones, and lying by saying how she wanted to "practice beating the Wraiths up, so she could do the same to Sayaka when she saw her again, for putting her through such a weird, and overly frilly scenario"—seemed to keep looking up at the sky, as if she was trying to will the four to come back and take her with them as well.

And even with as reliable a Senpai as Mami was—and even though she still knew they had much to do before their fights were done: returning the civilians about them, as well as keeping an eye on the Incubator, just being some of those things—she would have been lying if she said she didn't somewhat feel that way herself.

And even after only having had a  _taste_ of what their own eventual nirvana would be like when, ironically, their Soul Gems gave way to despair, made it more then a bit difficult to find the strength to go about their daily lives once again.

Mami knew well that she would do it all, though. After all, if she didn't take advantage of the chance to eat more cheese while she was here, she'd be hearing about it from Bebe all too soon.

And no doubt Kyoko would be getting an earful from Sayaka if she attempted to give up.

"I bet that Akemi-san was happy in the end," Mami stated suddenly—not even entirely sure where her thoughts were coming from, or where they'd lead her, but also knowing that she needed to reign Kyoko in before she did something foolish.

And... if talking randomly was a way that she could do just that, Mami found that she would merrily do such a thing for her first student...

Even if the said student was now looking at her as if she'd grown two heads, as she sucked on a juice box, balefully.

"After all, she'd been carrying a torch for Kaname-san all this time, in being the only one that remembered her. And though we did know about the Law of Cycles, and though Akemi-san did speak to us of her travels, as well as about 'her Madoka'... Well, it was difficult to reconcile both things into one person in our heads. You seemed to have a hard time giving her the benefit of the doubt especially, Sakura-san."

 _Well_ ,  _no_   _shit_ , Kyoko's facial expression seemed to say, as she took sharp bite after sharp bite of pocky, so that the ganache sliding out from between her fangs fell down like rain...

How easily Kyoko's persona all ready began changing back into the person she'd been  _before_ entering the Labyrinth, Mami noted, somewhat despairingly.  _We all know just how peachy religion has been to me, after making my wish._

" _But_ ," Mami continued on her thought, unperturbed. "Now she's not alone in that fight anymore. We believe her now—and better yet, have seen the Law of Cycles, as well as have some memories of the human Kaname-san ourselves now—so we can carry on where she left off.

"And after having fought for Kaname-san for so long, in must be a relief to Akemi-san to know that her patron won't be forgotten, don't you think, Sakura-san? It gives me joy in knowing that the hope of the Law of Cycles may not just be something that Madokami can spread, but something that we can all help in, too."

As it happened, Mami wasn't expecting the reaction at all she got for her words: Kyoko's expression darkened, her hair fell down to cover her eyes, and she beamed her most jagged looking grin that Mami had seen in a long time.

Taking a slight step back at that, as the blonde had to wonder if maybe Kyoko was about to say or do something awful—were her glassy eyes a hint that she was remembering something from "another timeline", as Homura had used to call it?—Mami ran a hand over the ring that housed her Soul Gem, in case she needed it, but in the end there was no need for it.

Straightening her back for a moment—but only for it to have no affect, as she was soon to hunch over and begin laughing hysterically—Kyoko was quick to relate between laughs, "Y-yeah. I'll bet you're right about that, Mami! And not only that: but I'll bet she got a kick out of matching us up with our most 'suitable companion' in that dream world of hers, and making us happy that way. I guess that's just good 'ol Homura for you, huh?!"

Kyoko finished off that particular statement by slapping her knee, laughing a few more times, and looking kindly at Mami, before she got up and turned on her heel—something coming at Mami as she did so, right over the redhead's shoulder.

It took but a second for Mami to catch it out of the air—feeling mystified by Kyoko's actions—and to turn the mystery item over in her hand: it was a peppermint.

Oh, of course, Sakura-san was giving her food. She should have known that's what it was, Mami decided, as she quickly popped the striped candy into her mouth, so that she wouldn't be caught "wasting food".

And then, as Kyoko was all ready starting to walk away, she murmured one last thing. "Oy, this whole situation has been beyond messed up. I'm gonna go shower at a real place that I crash at—instead of at 'Sayaka's pretend place'—and get some of this icky thoughts from the Labyrinth off me. So I'll be at your place, Mami.

"Oh... and be a good, old Senpai, and get these folks back to where they belong, eh? And hurry it up, too, will ya? As far as I'm concerned, I deserve a four-course meal after all this. And a certain time traveler still owes me a meal for Kazimino, but wouldn' 'chu know she had to go and get herself taken away by her girlfriend?! But… I know a friend like you won't mind flipping the bill, right? Thank you, Mami-san. Bye!"

As Mami speechlessly watched Kyoko scatter away, and seemingly return to the "normal" life she'd been living before Homura's psychotic episode, with little to no effort on her part, Mami found that she very much wanted to protest against all the words currently spewing out of her partner's mouth.

It was Kyoko's duty, as far as Mami saw it, to help get these people back to where they belonged, seeing as how Kyoko herself also secretly must have enjoyed her time in the Labyrinth, seeing as how she'd been affected by its memory manipulation so.

Upon noting that Kyoko made sure to kick Kyubey on her trek home, however (sadly, as it turned out, Madoka and Homura hadn't annihilated nearly as many of the Incubators with their joint attack as Mami would have liked), Mami decided to let it go.

After all, she'd very much wanted to do the same thing ever since Bebe had, fearfully and nervously, told her just what the little alien was planning, and how they might act to stop him in his tracks.

Yes... Mami, at the very least, truly wanted to kick Kyubey herself. But at her heart, she was nearly as kind as Madoka was, so she knew she'd never have the courage to actually do it. So if Kyoko had been willing to help her out in such a way just this once, then Mami figured she'd make her as many five star meals as she wanted.

For that... and for planning to stay with her, and for being her friend even to this day—even with everything that they'd both gone through.

And even though Mami knew well that Madoka, and maybe even Bebe, was always there to be with her and to watch over her...

Well, she'd learnt from Homura that it was very important to have a friend that understood you in this world, before the Law of Cycles eventually came to take them away elsewhere.

"Well, all right, then," Mami announced kindly, upon clapping her hands together, and surveying the three adults, two teenagers, and one toddler still in need of her guidance.

And then bowing slightly, the blonde assured them that, "I'll be sure to get you all back home toot sweet, and to even use some of my magic to make sure none of you remember any of this previous month. And, if we're lucky, maybe I can even use some magic on the excuses that you write to people, so that your bosses and teachers will believe what you say.

"Or better yet, I'll rope Sakura-san into doing that. She's quick to forget her responsibilities a lot of the time, but I—as a good Senpai—will remind her of how we need to work together as a team. But for now..."

 _But for now_ , thought one Tomoe Mami, as she looked up again at the jade colored sky, where countless Magical Girls were waiting for her.  _For now I need to look up at, and think of, my Bebe, and pray that very soon... she'll lovingly come with Madokami to get me, just as Kaname-san herself came for Akemi-san this time._

And the particular response that Mami got to that particular thought, was four particular stars blinking in perfect synchronization with each other. Two looked like eyes that were winking and promising, while the other two looked like an odd, reluctant smile—as if the two Magical Girls in charge of those constellations didn't really like working together. No doubt they were Akemi-san and Miki-san, Mami thought, ruefully.

Then, turning her back away from the sky, and beginning to head off in the direction that Kyoko had just gone—so that she might track her down and demand her help—Mami could have sworn she heard laughter, much like the chorus of the Magical Girls' that she'd heard earlier, dancing in her head.

Who knew? Maybe even in Madoka's soul, the Puella Magi still had telepathy with each other. And maybe if she focused hard enough on it, maybe she'd still be able to reach the friends that she so sorely missed when she needed to, Mami thought.

Who knew? No one did, but in the end, Mami found that she rather gleefully wanted to try it all out!

And now she found… that she had faith, for both something as simple as mind reading, but for so much more, too.

**Author's Note:**

> I. Have. No. Idea. Where. This. Idea. I. Randomly. Wrote. One. Early. Morning. Came. From. Seriously, I don't. I mean, I really like the ending to Rebellion for the most part, but I guess we all need a happy ending once in a while, huh?
> 
> Plus, I couldn't help thinking how perfect it was that, for just a moment, the team of Homura, Mami, and Kyoko (as seen at the end of the anime) all had someone they loved within the Law of Cycles (before Homura went to join Madoka here, anyway… and hopefully she'll eventually be able to do that in canon, too).
> 
> And I also thought, that if Rebellion hadn't ended like Rebellion, Homura probably WOULD have liked knowing that Kyoko and Mami now knew/had new memories of the human Madoka, and could carry out her previous mission for her. Yeah…
> 
> Umm, a few things: First of all, I actually didn't try to sweep all of the Rebellion stuff under the rug, as you might see here. I mean, before going with Madoka in this, we see Homura having some doubts. And Kyoko, there at the end (if you caught it), is wondering if she's really one-hundred percent happy with this new outcome. So Rebellion COULD still happen in this alternate universe thing I just created, but not yet. For a while, they'll all get to be really happy.
> 
> And though I probably should have just left everyone being mind numbingly happy, it just didn't seem right to me. After the Incubators experimented on her mind—aside from everything else—I do think that Homura would have some issues in Magical Girl Heaven or whatever (though hopefully Madoka, and the other girls, can help her sort that all out; Homura wanting to do ballet again—like she used to do, before she lost herself—is definitely a good start), but maybe that's just me.
> 
> Uhh… And apparently according to Word of God, saved Magical Girls do become a part of Madoka's soul, so that little tidbit is in here… As well as how I think Homura DID get special treatment in Rebellion. I mean, just going off of what we saw at the end of the anime, the other Magical Girls that Madoka saved didn't get to see her goddess form—or get a glimpse into heaven before they went there—but Homura did.
> 
> …You can probably tell that I tried to keep this story as close to canon as I could, and some of that stuff listed above is a bit of how I attempted it.
> 
> It was also important to me to try and write Kyoko as Kyoko. A lot of people—even the writers themselves lately, it seems—really seem to water down her character, and I really didn't want to do that here, so hopefully I did okay with it?
> 
> I also really hope that I did all right in writing Mami (I'm not really sure what inspired me to write this from her PoV, as I never have before, but I do like the outcome). I want to write more for her in the future, so hopefully with this I'm starting at a good place?
> 
> Well, let me know what you all think by dropping a review. Hope you enjoyed this, PMMM fans!
> 
> Bye!
> 
> -Shanna


End file.
